The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1932

by C.G. Jung, Sonu Shamdasani (Editor)

"Kundalini yoga presented Jung with a model of something that was almost completely lacking in Western psychology--an account of the development phases of higher consciousness.... Jung's insistence on the psychogenic and symbolic significance of such states is even more timely now than then. As R. D. Laing stated... 'It was Jung who broke the ground here, but few followed him.'"--From the introduction by Sonu Shamdasani

Jung's seminar on Kundalini yoga, presented to the Psychological Club in Zurich in 1932, has been widely regarded as a milestone in the psychological understanding of Eastern thought and of the symbolic transformations of inner experience. Kundalini yoga presented Jung with a model for the developmental phases of higher consciousness, and he interpreted its symbols in terms of the process of individuation. With sensitivity toward a new generation's interest in alternative religions and psychological exploration, Sonu Shamdasani has brought together the lectures and discussions from this seminar. In this volume, he re-creates for today's reader the fascination with which many intellectuals of prewar Europe regarded Eastern spirituality as they discovered more and more of its resources, from yoga to tantric texts. Reconstructing this seminar through new documentation, Shamdasani explains, in his introduction, why Jung thought that the comprehension of Eastern thought was essential if Western psychology was to develop. He goes on to orient today's audience toward an appreciation of some of the questions that stirred the minds of Jung and his seminar group: What is the relation between Eastern schools of liberation and Western psychotherapy? What connection is there between esoteric religious traditions and spontaneous individual experience? What light do the symbols of Kundalini yoga shed on conditions diagnosed as psychotic? Not only were these questions important to analysts in the 1930s but, as Shamdasani stresses, they continue to have psychological relevance for readers on the threshold of the twenty-first century. This volume also offers newly translated material from Jung's German language seminars, a seminar by the indologist Wilhelm Hauer presented in conjunction with that of Jung, illustrations of the cakras, and Sir John Woodroffe's classic translation of the tantric text, the Sat-cakra Nirupana.

Genres: Psychology, Spirituality, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Religion, Buddhism, Science

265 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1933

About the author

Carl Gustav Jung (/jʊŋ/; German: [ˈkarl ˈɡʊstaf jʊŋ]), often referred to as C. G. Jung, was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who founded analytical psychology. Jung proposed and developed the concepts of extraversion and introversion; archetypes, and the collective unconscious. His work has been influential in psychiatry and in the study of religion, philosophy, archeology, anthropology, literature, and related fields. He was a prolific writer, many of whose works were not published until after his death.

The central concept of analytical psychology is individuation—the psychological process of integrating the opposites, including the conscious with the unconscious, while still maintaining their relative autonomy. Jung considered individuation to be the central process of human development.

Jung created some of the best known psychological concepts, including the archetype, the collective unconscious, the complex, and synchronicity. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a popular psychometric instrument, has been developed from Jung's theory of psychological types.

Though he was a practising clinician and considered himself to be a scientist, much of his life's work was spent exploring tangential areas such as Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, and sociology, as well as literature and the arts. Jung's interest in philosophy and the occult led many to view him as a mystic, although his ambition was to be seen as a man of science. His influence on popular psychology, the "psychologization of religion", spirituality and the New Age movement has been immense.

Reviews

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, Carl Jung proceeds to a deeper understanding of any topic he pursues. Jung practiced yoga most of his adult life even into older age and his preferred type of yoga was Kundalini. His focus was physical and spiritual "so that you may become finally conscious of yourself, then hatred, fear is no more."
His understanding of human nature and what we need to do to heal our psychological wounds is, once again, astounding. Take this quote as an example: "Of course, it is most regrettable that you always get into trouble, but don't you see what you are doing? You love somebody, you identify with them, and of course you prevail against the objects of your love and repress them by your very self-evident identity. You handle them as if they were yourself, and naturally there will be resistances. It is a violation of the individuality of those people, and it is a sin against your own individuality. Those resistances are a most useful and important instinct: you have resistances, scenes, and disappointments so that you may become finally conscious of yourself, and then hatred is no more."
Yoga is a practice that he recommends as a psychological discipline to become fully one's self. Excellent book!

[Egidija Šeputytė · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those readers who are expecting to have a psychological textbook on Kundalini Yoga and Tantra yoga - this book is not that. It is an invitation to dive together with the participants of the seminar into the two different fields - of kundalini yoga and analytical psychology - looking for the connecting links as well as differences of the approaches. Respect and humility are felt throughout the entire book. The historical context and footnotes really help to feel the multidimensional field of the seminar, which was held almost a hundred years ago.

[Nick Mather]

This is actually notes of a seminar Jung gave in 1932. While he does not escape approaching Kundalini Yoga via an attitude of European orientalism, I think credit should be given that he was the first, I think, psychologist to look at Indian traditions for insights into the stages of higher consciousness and human psychology. It should also be remembered that he is interpreting what little was known at the time of Tantra through the lenses of depth psychology rather than interpreting the symbolism on its own merits. Nevertheless an interesting read and an important piece of the history of analytical psychology.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every few years the Bollingen Foundation comes out with a new supplementary volume to The Collected Works of C.G. Jung. The typical addition is like this one: typescript notes of a seminar or seminars worked up for publication, with critical apparati. Like the regular numbered texts of the series, the standards are high, the notes thorough. Unlike the regular series, however, there are no paragraph numbers in this volume--a problem should a revised edition ever be issued.

Personally, I, like many of the participants and Jung himself, didn't much comprehend the Tantric side of the discussions, particularly the Sat-cakra-nirupana. While the editor's introduction was clear enough, indeed quite good as an overview of the appropriation of such works by the community of analytical psychologists, the actual contents of the seminars were more about analytical psychology and Jung than about Tantrism. Jung does almost all of the talking. The questioners, however, will also be familiar to those studied in the history of the Jungian movement. Hauer's lecture alone really focuses on the ostensible topic. Interestingly, he was a Nazi race theorist intent on selling an "Aryan" religion to the National Socialists--a fact the editor does not conceal. Significantly, he and the Zurich Jungians broke with one another after the Nazi seizure of power in Germany.

So far as there is a theme to Jung's remarks which dominate the book, it is that this material, like all such material, is more grist for the mill of archetypal psychology. Repeatedly, it is claimed that the symbology of kundalini yoga, like the spontaneous dreams of people around the globe over all of history, confirms individuation theory. The "proof", as ever, is neither very clear nor very convincing.

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing read and a great companion to Jung's Red Book (dream diary). His thoughts about chakras, spirituality and what drew him to the East are noteworthy and potent. Highly recommended!

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

C. Jung at his best, comparing east and west, and how much we all have in common; if only we think, and follow our psychical instincts.

[Max Tower · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone seeking more information on "Kundalini awakening", this book will come very handy as it is one of the few that actually contains additional testimonials and experience descriptions from those who already went through it.

It is very hard to find much information on this topic in either format; be it print, digital, or even verbal.

This book (and Gopi Krishna: Kundalini - The Evolutionary Energy in Man) helped me a lot to understand what had happened to me in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco in 2022. Thank you for that :)

On that basis, I hope others will also be able to put the pieces of their puzzle together with the help of these two books.

[Kiana Ekramian · Rating 3 out of 5]

من به شخصه از اسطوره‌شناسی خیلی خوشم میاد. یونگ کهن الگو‌ها و اسطوره
ها رو با عمق ناخودآگاه ما تلفیق کرده و نظریه‌های خیلی جالبی رو عنوان کرده.
این کتاب می‌تونه پله اول شما برای آشنایی با نظریه‌های یونگ باشه

[Chet · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is more for those who already have extensive knowledge of the topic than those just beginning to learn about Kundalini Yoga.

[Anja Rep · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insight-giving deep dive into Kundalini Yoga and its ideas from a perspective of a psychologist. Loved Jung's explanations and seminar compositions.

[Yeri · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I am a novice when it comes to Kundalini Yoga, learning about its psychological and symbolic aspects through this book has been incredibly helpful. Connecting the chakras to the stages of the individuation process makes a lot of sense. The contents in this book is nearly 100 years old, and I'm sure there are more recent and up-to-date materials that better explain the practical aspects of Kundalini Yoga. However, we have Jung to thank for bridging his knowledge of Western psychoanalytic theory with Eastern spiritual practices. What began as sheer curiosity for him grew into extensive knowledge, which is very impressive. Now, all we have to do is apply it in practice and see the results for ourselves.

[Baroness · Rating 1 out of 5]

I perused this read while sipping on a delightful beverage. The beverage was the only stimulation I obtained from this space in time.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a second read. Very interesting but dense.

[Mike]

“But what is passion, what are emotions? There is the source of fire, there is the fullness of energy. A man who is not on fire is nothing: he is ridiculous, he is two-dimensional. He must be on fire even if he does make a fool of himself. A flame must burn somewhere, otherwise no light shines; there is no warmth, nothing.”

[Pixie Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Represented differently than how I'm used to encountering the topic, which made it interesting in a another way than I was expecting.

[Lew Stanisława · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can't finish reading this for all the racist shit inside is driving me crazy.

[Maya Georgieva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating!!!

[Domenic Ciampa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating interpretation of kundalini yoga through the lens of depth psychology. To fully appreciate this work, one must for the cognizant of the circumstances of its origins. Jung delivered these lectures pre-WWII, in a time where yoga occupied the ghettos of the western consciousness at best. In the age of globalisation, it is hard to image a western society in which yoga was obscure and esoteric. Walk several blocks in any major city and you are bound to encounter several yoga studios but one must wonder how exactly yoga took such a stronghold in the societies of westerners.

Jung attributes yoga’s permutations through the western consciousness to British imperialism (yup), drawing a compelling comparison to the influx of christianity into the roman empire upon their conquering of the middle east. Expansionism leaves the door open for foreign symbols to enter the collective conscious. Here, the seed for yoga in the west was planted. As to why yoga has occupied such a premier role in western culture, we are left to speculation. Jung suggests that the future success of yoga is largely dependent upon the westerner assimilating it with an ethos of christianity at the foundation. Jung warns against the western mind trying to adopt the process of kundalini in a literal sense as the culture of the east is far too obscure for us to grasp. He points to an inversion of the role of the unconscious and metaphysics, where our process of individuations is symbolized by a rising up for the unconscious and world of symbol, their journey points to an ascension towards this very same phenomenon, the process being entirely inverted.

These lectures echo sentiments of Erich Neumann’s work pointing to the evolution of our collective conscious through the ages. Yoga fascinatingly captures this very evolution in a seemingly coherent system through the ascension of the chakras. Beginning with the muladhara we are grounded in earthly, instinctual drives (similar to a Freudian Id if you will..) and the consciousness of day symbolized by the rising sun has not yet awoken. As consciousness ascends through these chakras we reach different understandings of the self and our experience of life as such. Jung does an excellent job at outlining this ascension in psychological terms palatable to the west. I feel confident in recommending this lecture series to anyone interested in Jung, depth psychology, and mysticism of the east. I went into this book with a sense of cynicism towards the westernization (read commercialization) of yoga in the west and came out the other side strongly reconsidering. It appears to be a natural assimilation of the symbol of the east into western consciousness in a way that keeps us firmly rooted in our muladhara, in our sense of groundedness. The implications for the assimilation of the eastern symbol into our western collective unconsciousness is yet to be determined but its appeal is today undeniable, we are only left to see how things play out over the span of our limited lifetime.

[Tugba Oz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yaklaşık 6 senedir hatta yoga yapan ve kundalini'nin methini çok duymuş olan bir yogini olarak çok hevesle başladım bu kitaba.

Kitap Jung'un Kundalini Yoga ve Çakralar konusunda verdiği konferanslardan oluşuyor. Ayrı Hauer'ın da verdiği konferanslara ve araştırmalara birçok atıfta bulunuyor. Daha önce Jung'un Rüyalar ve Dört Arketip olmak üzere iki adet kitabını okumuştum ve Jung okumanın nasıl bir deneyim olduğunu biliyordum; karışık, araştırma gerektiren, düşünme gerektiren ve okumak/anlamak için ilgi, emek isteyen bir yazar/düşünür/psikiyatr. Ve Jung'un bu tarzı, Doğu felsefesinin soyutluğu, kundalini yoga'nın terimleriyle birleşince gerçekten okuma deneyimini oldukça karmaşıklaştırıyor. Kitabın beni çok yorduğunu ve okuma loop'una soktuğunu itiraf etmek zorundayım.

Buna rağmen oldukça bilgilendirici, ufuk açıcı ve kundalini yoga hakkında yazılmış kapsamlı bir kitap. Birçok altını çizdiğim, notlar aldığım ve uzun anlatımlardan çıkarımlarımı minik notlara döktüğüm yerler oldu. Kitabı sindirmek için yavaş yavaş ve parça parça okumalar yaptım. Bunun sonucunda da kitabı olabildiğince anlayabildiğimi düşünüyorum.

Yine de aynı konu daha okunması ve anlaşılması kolay biçimde ele alınabilir miydi diye merak ediyorum.

[Oskar Brenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great work giving an insight about the similarities in analytical psychology and kundalini yoga. First five chakras were covered quite well, I would though have liked to here more about Ajna and Sahasrara chakras. In the end however liked the humility and honesty of Jung when he admits that not much can be said about them, because of lack of personal experience. Quotes from Jung:

I will be silent on the meaning of yoga for India, because I cannot presume to pass judgement on something I do not know from persoal experience. I can however, say something about what it means for the West. Our lack of direction borders on psychic anarchy. Therefore any religious or philosophical practice amounts to a psychological discipline, and therefore a method of psychic hygiene.

In the course of the centuries, west will produce its own yoga, and it will be on the basis laid down by Christianity

[L.Y. · Rating 3 out of 5]

- You get an inflation and you identify with god.
- Individuation is not that you become an ego-you would then become an individualist. An individualist is a man who did not succeed in individuating, he is philosophically distilled egotist.
- Therefor nobody understands what the self is, because the self is just the thing which you are not, which is not the ego.
- but then you discover that you are not master in your own house
- It is a mistake to think that we are the center. We think we are gods of our world, and therefore tantric yoga idea that one becomes a god is dangerous for us. We start with that prejudice. But we are really devilish, awful things; we simply do not see ourselves from the outside. We think we are wonderful people, highly respectable and moral, and so on, but in reality we are bloody pirates. What we think of ourselves is a lie.

[Erkut · Rating 2 out of 5]

Güzel bilgiler içeren ancak okuması çok zor bir kitap. Kitapta Jung' un bu konularda düzenlemiş olduğu seminerler ve o zamandan alınmış notlar anlatılıyor. Psikoloji ve antik çağlarla ilgili çok fazla detaya girilmiş, her ne kadar sayfaların alt kısımlarında açıklamalar yapılmış olsa da okurken çok zorlandım. Bazı sayfalarda açıklamalar neredeyse tüm sayfayı kaplayacak şekilde yapılmış. Belki bu konularda yeterli bilgiye sahip olmadığım için bana öyle geldi ancak eğer Kundalini Yoga ve Analitik Psikoloji hakkında iyi bir bilgi birikiminiz yoksa bu kitabı başlangıçta okumanızı tavsiye etmem. Böyle büyük bir dehanın hakkını, yeterli donanımım olmadığından dolayı verememiş olduğumu düşünerekm kendime bu kitabı belirli bir birikime ulaştıktan sonra tekrar okuma hedefi koydum

[Eddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good in concept, and full of nuggets and ideas of great insight and thought as usual by Jung, but I can't help but feel like the presentation of the book (which is largely a series of live lectures given by Jung and another individual to other professionals) could have been greatly helped with some better/fuller context about what was being discussed. It presupposes an intimate understanding of what even Jung repeatedly describes as concepts that are seemingly unknowable to Western man - I don't suggest that it should be a beginner's guide to the concepts of Kundalini, but that a slightly happier medium may have gone a long way.

[Majo Yepez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea. I truly enjoyed learning about the chakras and energy and whatnot but given that I am so unfamiliar with the terminology and the Kundalini Yoga I found it hard to connect concepts. Very interesting nonetheless, wish I had read a book about the Kundalini Yoga beforehand tho. Kind of a bummer

[Sara Palacio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este ha sido un gran viaje. Aquí he descubierto pedazos míos, he entendido algunos sueños y he aprendido sobre el camino para despertar a Kundalini desde Occidente. Se trata de un libro de conferencias con apartados profundos sobre la consciencia, lo inconsciente y la individuación.

[Shyam Poovaiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

For people who find mysticism of yoga barrier for their practice, this book is must. This book explains to the rational mind the possible origins and principles behind the practice.
The chakras and how they relate to mental states is a eye opener.

[Joe Barney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book! My first time reading Jung and, at least as a lecturer, I found him quite approachable and clear. Great credit to the editor and translator, Sonu Shamdasani, for the organization and footnotes. Really very insightful to read this shortly after Roots of Yoga.

[Knit Spirit · Rating 1 out of 5]

J'ai abandonné ce livre en cours de route, trop ennuyeux à lire malgré tout l'intérêt que je porte au yoga.
Le retranscription des conférences n'est pas un format agréable à lire.

[Karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a real TRIP

[M●13RA · Rating 4 out of 5]

8.3/10